As its main mission and focus areas, our State Association facilitates advocacy, programmatic investments, and teen leadership events for its member Club organizations.
Large scale investments secured by BGCWA help local Clubs launch and maintain life-changing programs for Club kids, focused on academic success, healthy lifestyles and character development. The State Association increasingly plays another key role, by facilitating professional development events for Club professionals. This November, Club resource development professionals gathered for a day of training, learning new skills in major gift solicitation, and developing a culture of philanthropy, with the latter presented by Susan Howlett, a renown national expert on this topic. Bellevue Clubs, as the summit’s hosting organization, shared a dynamic presentation on peer-to-peer fundraising.
The following week, as part of our ongoing Mental Health Promotion Pilot, funded by OSPI and the Norcliffe Foundation, all Clubs were able to send their Behavioral Support Specialists for two days to SeaTac to participate in professional development. Workshops covered topics of better supports for neurodivergent youth and effective communication with youth, families and coworkers facilitated by Brooks Powers Institute; a DEI session on addressing microaggressions, and an informative presentation on HearMeWA, a new state mental health support resource. BSS staff utilized breaks and informal sessions to better connect with one another, and as a result, the State Association is launching a peer-learning program, with funding available for these practitioners to visit one another and observe each other’s programming and outreach.
